Tag: Jamaicarum

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White Rum and Friends Trivia at Dr. Funk

Monday was a good night out in downtown San Jose, with Dr. Funk hosting Risky Quizness doing Friends trivia. This is Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite show, and I expected her to a lot better than when we went to Office trivia and I didn’t really do very well (reminder: I used to cohost an Office podcast!). Unfortunately, the questions posted were, well, let’s just call them deep cuts and we didn’t do much better this time. Considering the level of difficulty, we’re not sure we’ll do more of these trivia events.

Nonetheless we did have a good time, thanks to more rums from the Dr. Funk Rum Asylum Level 1 list. As with my previous post about choosing a trio of easy sippers, this time I went thematic again with three white rums that show how diverse unaged rums can be.

The three rums are:

  • Wray & Nephew White Overproof Jamaica Rum
  • Kō Hana Kea from O’ahu
  • Rhum JM Agricole Blanc from Martinique

What a fabulous way to show how diverse rum can be with these three unaged rums. The Wray & Nephew is made from molasses and is a flavorful high-proof fruit bomb, whereas the Rhum JM is made from sugar cane juice and features grassy and vegetal notes. My favorite in this group was the very pleasant and mild Kō Hana Kea that has balanced flavors from the Hawaiian cane.

Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai knocked off another from her Rum Asylum list by having a Bacardi Ocho in the Daiquiri format. So clean and definitely more flavorful than the standard Bacardi.

Our sons enjoyed some classic Dr. Funk cocktails including the Shipwreck, Saturn’s Sunrise, and Phoenix Rising – plus some great Nacho Fries and Coconut Shrimp, but our entire table disliked Dr. Funk’s version of the Jungle Bird that uses the Cruzan Black Strap rum with its overbearing maple syrup flavor.

San Jose’s “hidden tiki bar” remains anything but, thanks to a thematic shamrock light display that all along San Pedro Square can see. Monday was pretty busy thanks to the trivia and also Dr. Funk’s stellar drinks.

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Appleton 21

Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Make and Drink on YouTube

When Derek from Make and Drink invited me for a blind test of the core lineup of Appleton Estate rums I was confident that I would prefer my favorite expression from the range, Appleton 12 Rare Casks. This has been my go-to single bottle Mai Tai for over a decade, featuring a blend of pot and column still distillate, long tropical aging, and a rich flavor that works great in the cocktail.

I was also expecting to not prefer Appleton’s entry level expression, Appleton Signature, aged for around four years and a lower proof as well. And I also expected to not really dig Appleton’s longest aged expression, Appleton 21 Nassau Valley Casks. In the past my perception was that I didn’t really like this rum feeling that the body was not as heavy nor as complex despite two decades of aging.

Such was my surprise that I preferred Appleton 21, and it honestly wasn’t even close! The bold barrel notes worked well with the rest of the Mai Tai ingredients to present something that had a bit more to chew on than my second favorite in the blind test, Appleton 12. I feel less bad in that Derek preferred the 21 as well. Of course, Appleton 21 being three times the price of Appleton 12 means that it wasn’t like the Mai Tai was three times better, so factoring price into account Appleton 12 is still the winner.

The blind test shows that you need to check your assumptions from time to time and address the reality that your taste can change over time or that perhaps your previous experience was an off day for your palette. Apologies for the shade, Appleton 21.

We thank Derek for providing the venue to taste the rums in this format.

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Which Appleton Estate Rum makes the BEST Mai Tai?

Check out today’s episode of Make and Drink where I visited the Make and Drink bar to try all of the mainstream Appleton Estate Rum releases in a Mai Tai and via a blind taste test to declare a winner.

This was similar to the Single Bottle Mai Tai Rum challenge I did with Derek last year, though this time the results didn’t quite go as expected at least for this writer. In any case, this was a lot of fun and hopefully informative. Appleton makes great rums and any great rum will do well in the Mai Tai cocktail format.

The Appleton Estate rums we tested were:

  • Appleton Signature
  • Appleton 8 yr Reserve
  • Appleton 12 yr Rare Casks
  • Appleton 15 yr Black River Casks
  • Appleton 21 yr Nassau Valley Casks

Be sure to stick to the end to see the results that might shock you.

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Rum Asylum Launch at San Jose’s Dr. Funk Tiki Bar

When downtown San Jose’s Dr. Funk opened in 2021 it came with the moniker “Rum House / Kitchen” but to date there hasn’t been a lot of emphasis on rum itself apart from a well-stocked back bar. That changed this week with the lunch of a rum club called the Rum Asylum.

Taking nods from the legend of Doctor Bernhard Funk, the club features thematic levels including the starting level called “Inpatient” that features twenty notable rums including one flight. The booklet that you keep with you includes a graphical map of your journey and places for the crew to stamp the spot after you order your item. Rewards and future levels are slated to be revealed soon.

Shockingly, Mrs Mai Tai decided to start the list herself, so we both ordered the rum flight that provides a nice intro to rum with Planteray Pineapple, Paranubes cane rum from Mexico, and Appleton 12 from Jamaica. Each rum on the list can be ordered as a Daiquiri for a $3 up-charge, and Kō Hana Kea was a big hit for Julie in format. Meanwhile, I went to “oak town” with Appleton 21 and Privateer Queen’s Share, each of which feature tons of wood aging notes.

This new program is just getting off the ground, but look for rum-related events and additional levels with some interesting and unique rewards to be announced soon. In the meantime, now is a perfect time to explore the initial list that includes a very nice variety of mainstream rums all under $50 for a 1½ oz pour (most substantially less). The list includes Dr Funk’s unique blend of Myers’s Single Barrel Select and rums from Martinique, Barbados, the United States, and more.

Thanks to Amanda Hastings for hosting the launch event and helping customers get acquainted. Note: nurse Amanda will not be appearing nightly.

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Appleton 12 Mai Tai

Oh, my beloved Appleton Estate 12 Year Old Rare Casks Jamaica rum.

You’ve been the star in so many Mai Tais and an integral part of so many custom rum blends at commercial and home bars around the world.

You pair well with Smith & Cross from Jamaica and with Clement from Martinique.

And you’re fabulous on your own, even being named favorite Appleton rum in a Mai Tai this week by The Rum Revival YouTube channel.

Even Derek from Make & Drink sings your praises.

When I go into a bar and think about a top shelf rum for a Mai Tai you’re the first rum I look for. And you’re usually there, waiting for me.

You’ve never let me down. Never ever ever. My favorite forever.

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Appleton 17 Mai Tai at Wilfred’s Lounge

Last week’s “last Appleton 17 Mai Tai” post now seems to be very ill-timed, thanks to the opportunity to try The Legend again. Mrs. Mai Tai and I landed in Napa for dinner in advance of strolling the city to check out the Lighted Art Festival. Consistent with previous visits, we had a great meal at Wilfred’s Lounge including a quite good Sesame Wonton Salad and Wilfred’s famous Pineapple Fried Rice as entrees and a really great Cheesecake with Ube Whipped Cream and toasted coconut.

We made reservations for dinner and so were seated inside rather than out on the patios out front or up on the roof, and our service was efficient and friendly. Things were a bit chilly in Napa, but the mellow mood inside was truly relaxing.

Appleton 17 Legend is top shelf

When Wilfred’s originally obtained the Appleton 17 Legend rum they would let you have a 1 oz pour for $100 but would not make a half-sized Mai Tai, something we griped about fairly loudly. Thanks in part to that pressure, Wilfred’s announced they’d offer this amazing rum in a small Mai Tai so that more people could actually try the rum that was made to recreate the Wray & Nephew 17 rum from the original Mai Tai. Once again this amazing rum shines through in a cocktail, though Wilfred’s version had a little bit too much lime and not enough orgeat. Still very good but not, you know, ultimate.

Mrs. Mai Tai loves the Maximum Aloha cocktail which is still expertly made, as was the Batten Down the Hatches with potent rums and spices. So, an overall good cocktail night at Wilfred’s.

Batten Down the Hatches
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Monday Trivia at Dr. Funk

We had a pretty good time at a romance themed Office trivia event at Dr. Funk and hosted by RiskyQuizness a couple weeks back. RiskyQuizness seems to have a regular gig on Mondays, in addition to hosting pop culture themed trivia events at bars throughout the South Bay. Mondays also coincides with Mai Tai Monday at Dr. Funk, where their excellent Mai Tai is only $8!

RiskyQuizness runs their trivia via a web app, which means they can offer both write in questions as well as multiple choice. Each team has about a minute to answer each question but you get extra points if you submit the correct answer faster. I’m of mixed mind on this format and having to do this on a device meant that one player at a table kind of needs to be doing most of the work. Questions were pretty reasonable – some hard and some easy. Some that were easy but we missed anyway. Alcohol was involved.

Trivia events start at 7:30 and run for about 90 minutes with two large rounds of questions. We didn’t place, even though this writer used to cohost an Office podcast, thanks to neither of us watching and rewatching episodes constantly. We’ll do better when it is Friends trivia and Mrs. Mai Tai will be my ringer.

In addition to the Mai Tai I got to try the Worthy Park Overproof rum which I found to be excellent. I’m looking forward to Dr. Funk’s upcoming Rum Asylum checklist, starting February 27. See you there.